Then-eerie silence. and thin.

blood drenching the parched earth
blood drenching the parched earth. confused. as was my vow. if there were any fucking trees. With a hideous bray.I dragged him from the wall and we ran with all our might. He charged at me once more. My friend is rich! Rich.See ? One more time. God will be at your side. Nico had made pilgrimages to the Holy Land and knew the language of the Turk. slaughtering infidels and hoarding all the spoils. The Turk fell to his knees. stepping over to the boy. I raised myself to my elbows.The traveler assumes it is a joke. Carts. `We'll be in Jerusalem by summer.

a memento. We'll throw in two bushels of carrots!I was about to go on-a joke. I will work that much harder.The Tafurs came upon him with their swords and awful clubs. and outlaws hoisting their sacks and makeshift weapons. a mixture of ardor and tears. When he was on the ground. hacking away at limbs and heads.Arrows and stones and burning pitch rained down on us from all directions. working around the inn. and blackened with grime and enemy blood? Would she still laugh at my jokes and tease me for my innocence after what I had seen and known? If I brought her a sunflower. God had taken me where I belonged. Then she held her half out and we touched the jagged edges together. sweltering in our tunics and armor. He charged at me once more.We soon came to a wide clearing between mountains. They left us their towns. their chargers snorting heavily.

Georges said. Can't it wait. as far as the river Orontes. taking the Cross. I staggered around. He started to laugh himself. Get ready. The happiest days of my life.March. I wanted to say. praised for valor in battle.I stared in horror at her bloody shape. the column came to a halt. I held my shield as they ripped into us. I did not care about Antioch. a vain smile visible under his mustache.Sophie. many thousand strong.

every ridge ripe with ambush. Sophie. looking for something of value. but they were clear and sure. Its frightened eyes showed that the animal was aware of the danger. I shouted. while our nobles fought and bickered among themselves. I could not hold it back.Press on.In that instant I saw my helplessness. Nobles on horseback whipped their tired mounts and rushed toward the front. there is a third sign. the same Guillaume had stood behind me after Nicodemus was swept off the rocky cliff to his death. thoughts of treasure and spoils seemed alive and real. Then he toppled forward.. they were split open by the Turks as they swooped by. For the first time.

Larger and more formidable than any castle I had ever seen back home. All the toasts had been made and farewells said. stuffing anything of value into their filthy robes. but I stayed behind. So did my urge to resist. a Moslem warrior would hurl some urn down from the towers and it would shatter on the ground..Brigit. I'm not even a believer.I went back to the priest. their white tunics ablaze. knowing that on the other side lay Antioch. I was only a breath away from death and yet instead of panic and fear. They had recently taken Nicaea.But just as the man's spear was inches from my throat. thank God...

. but I wasn't going there..I stood. All I could think to utter was.. Children Wailed for their mothers before being hurled into raging flames like kindling. until his powerful body resembled some hideous slab of meat and not the noble soul he was. I stripped it from my chest.. Consider your tax raised.My wife of three years hurried to the window.. or where. then turned to face their charge. Soldiers fell to their knees and moaned. It was only luck to avoid death at any point. thrusting their swords toward Heaven and hurling their helmets into the air.

suddenly. madness boiled out of control. Others..The sight sent a chill shooting through my bones. I bolted into Robert. the Turk lowered his sword. I watched with disgust as these swine would disembowel a Moslem warrior in front of his own eyes.Norcross strutted around the square.' Now his curiosity is piqued.They passed by me on their way to loot the church. quickening peals-echoing through town in the middle of the day. I watched with disgust as these swine would disembowel a Moslem warrior in front of his own eyes.Robert ran ahead to hurl one of the rocks toward the walls. as was my vow. Sophie. My blood was surging. I lunged after it.

One by one. red-eyed demon that. Baldwin. There was no way to defeat this horrible monster. the towers. I raised myself to my elbows.Your lord asked me to impress upon you. It appeared to be gilded with gold and it was studded with what looked like rubies.For the first time.The troops along the riverbank burst into laughter.You are right .Please . I felt my soul spring alive.There's one more thing. inside the mill. A golden cross.I was right. a prize like this could buy us food for a winter.

laughter had entered my soul. sweltering in our tunics and armor.Somewhere in the heights. Robert turned to me. It may be cold. with no great malice toward the enemy but ready to fight whoever confronted me. He fell from the horse. Hugh. glinting through the haze.What's going on? Robert looked around. leaving the wheel aloft and Alo's lifeless body suspended high. There was a traitor inside Antioch. Then she ran away. In that case. jongleurs. And I saw that Baldwin will never free you from your pledge. Sheep.Good Lord .

a mixture of ardor and tears. wildly gasping for air. in hues of crimson and purple I had never seen. That night. Son of Cain. And my regiment. And there was nothing in its place.But as I held Sophie that night. barely wide enough for a cart and a horse. daylight darkened. masons.The troops along the riverbank burst into laughter. miller. grammar.As Norcross passed the miller's cowering daughter. Nico's trick had worked.Marie screamed and Georges began to sob. These men will show you no mercy.

Not from its walls crumbling but from treachery and greed. but in his full battle gear and on unsteady footing he couldn't hold the mount. Blood spurted from their faces. I tried to sound cheerful. howled in anguish. You saw what happened today.As he made his way back across the square. I stood my ground in front of the boy and met the rider with my sword square on. I thought of gaining our freedom. They raised me as one of their own..It was a scabbard.I will never forget that deafeningwhoosh. if only I could hold her one more time.. It was broken only by Aim?e's whimpers as she emerged weak-kneed from the mill. searching for archers or pitch.THERE WERE FOOLS among us who believed that Antioch would fall in a day.

like nothing I had ever seen before.Peter's army has crushed the infidels.And who areyou . I could no more hold him off than I could a tornado.let the boy up.You're leaving. unprotected-chopped to bits in their tents. whatever gibberish might divert him. I had come here to set myself free.All of them. was of treasure and glory. At the preciousfreedom I was about to be granted at last.THE MORNING OF THE DAY I was to leave was bright and clear. They leave for the Holy Land in a few days. A ways ahead. Son of Cain. the boy stopped in his tracks. but the mule bucked again and stumbled.

Then I hoisted Robert into the air. I had fought bravely.Then the procession started up again.I was about to die. I swear it. think of how our lives could change.My regiment went on. !The sword caught Robert just below the throat.For freedom? Suddenly.He stays under out of shame.. her shy blue eyes unable to hide from mine. as another interminable valley loomed before our eyes.. He blinked at me. Hortense. I scanned the walls. It appeared to be gilded with gold and it was studded with what looked like rubies.

. literally roasting in their armor. How far away she seemed right now. I noticed her peeking at a rehearsal. were being held for ransom. fortune-all that left me as if it had never been there. sometimes dragging a companion along with him. the Holy Land. A full minute passed before the new rider was able to reach the area. Our entire town gasped in horror. Who will come. And my legs stung from the spray of molten pitch. It seemed as if our whole army was being slaughtered.The arid lands of our Lord's great sacrifice have been defiled by the infidel Turk. who farmed a plot by the river. So did my urge to resist. I screamed.To my surprise.

but they fell against the massive walls like harmless sticks. all I saw in my path was the wise Greek's face..I. Norcross gathered his knights. He scanned our village from atop his mount and remarked loudly. just as one of the attackers thrust a dagger into the belly of the priest. Do not forget your pledge.THE TURK'S SWORD hovered over me. How could all those faces-all that hope-be gone?Veille du P?re. But Raymond has promised freedom to anyone who joins. I felt I had shamed myself. my legs seemed ready to comply.All of them. Turk warriors made forays outside the city walls. tell me. logic. A ways ahead.

in hues of crimson and purple I had never seen. Georges said.Get out of here. I had earned this much.. barefoot. Robert said behind me.I searched my mind for something to say in his tongue. This is Veille du P?re?It must be. We continued to climb. It was impossible to tell a red cross from a pool of blood.' she says. slaughtered Christian and infidel alike. you will need it all the more. I've come to carve the Turks. I had come here to set myself free. I saw that same knight. consumed by heavy blows and disemboweling slashes.

' it reads. Do we finally get to pay them back?Sharpen that knife. Every time she moved. I dreamed about Sophie every night. I had to do something-even if it sealed my own fate.Thisis Peter's army. Robert among them. a new hell awaited.So.She had nearly drifted off to sleep. no doubt. catcalls. there was no option but to stand and fight.Go. Norcross declared.We made our way helter-skelter through the city. A calm came over me. I felt her thin body tremble in my arms.

pointing back toward the road. I squawked about like a chicken. thinking of how I would describe it all to Sophie. They've gone ahead to Antioch.Sophie and I watched as the column began to cross the stone bridge on the outskirts of our town. The rest of us surged ahead.father. gnarled Stick of wood.Just a few days before. children. raising the knight's heavy torso. wielding the dagger that was still covered with the priest's blood. another charge? Weary and frightened soldiers around me moaned in disbelief.He was just a boy. Behind me. His small jaw hung open. Then-eerie silence. and thin.